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Fanie Fourie's Lobola [ Hits:17083 ]
Review: Fanie Fourie's Lobola is better than you think. The title and movie poster conjure up what you'd imagine to be a crass, over-the-top comedy, leaning on stereotypes with a side order of cheeky romance. Thankfully, it's not. This new South African romantic comedy doesn't insult your senses, it's actually street smart and mature. Fanie Fourie's Lobola is based on the book by Nape 'A Motana. It's a curious journey into an interracial and cross-cultural relationship between Fanie, an Afrikaans "boer...

What If [ Hits:20179 ]
Review: Without the Harry Potter thing, Daniel Radcliffe is a pretty ordinary guy, something we tend to lose sight of when it comes to watching him in just about anything post-2011. He's always been a bit of a cold fish, stubbornly determined yet tempered by his British-ness. Imagining him in a quirky Canadian comedy romance would have been a joke in itself a few years back, but it's now a surprising reality in What If. This offbeat comedy turned romance, originally dubbed The F Word, follows a medical...

The Promise [ Hits:12395 ]
Review: The Promise is a film by Terry George, the same writer-director who brought us the terrifying vision of genocide in Africa, Hotel Rwanda. He's covering an epic romance drama in the same sweeping fashion as David Lean's Doctor Zhivago set against the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The Promise hinges on a love triangle between Mikael, a gifted apothecary turned medical student, Ana, a budding artist and her partner, Chris, an American journalist. While the windswept romance remains centre stage,...

Vir Die Voëls [ Hits:2553 ]
Review: South African film has come a long way as evidenced by Vir Die Voëls or For the Birds, a South African romantic comedy drama with a similar ebb-and-flow to the American sitcom, The Wonder Years. The film is directed by Quentin Krog, who is best known for Ballade vir 'n Enkeling. While Vir Die Voëls also has a dramatic and romantic element, its quirky comedic undertones are carried by a plucky lead character who narrates and stars. We follow Irma Humpel, beginning with her wedding day and then...

Free State [ Hits:3080 ]
Review: Free State is a South African romance drama from writer-director, Salmon de Jager. Known for writing Verraaiers, Roepman and Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux, he turned his craft to directing with Musiek vir die Agtergrond and now Free State. His latest drama centres on a forbidden romance between Jeanette, a white Afrikaans girl, and an Indian man named Ravi during the Apartheid era in South Africa. Under the infamous Immorality Act, white and non-white people were prohibited from entering int...

Vir Altyd [ Hits:3733 ]
Review: Vir Altyd is the latest romance comedy drama from film-makers and stars, Donnalee Roberts and Ivan Botha. Their chemistry was established in Pad na jou Hart, also known as Road to your Heart, and the on-screen couple continue to light the way with their heartfelt and pure blend of romance drama and comedy fun. Their latest romantic adventure sees them playing Nina and Hugo, former sweethearts who resume their complicated friendship on an island holiday in Mauritius. The co-lead chemistry is te...

Before We Go [ Hits:2750 ]
Review: Before We Go is a directorial debut for Chris Evans, a Hollywood star who has become synonymous with Captain America. While Evans is best known for his blockbuster appearances, he's starred in the odd romantic comedy and has decided to go behind the camera for Before We Go, an upbeat romance drama and mystery about two strangers whose night of adventures draw them closer. The film follows in the tradition of Before Sunrise and Once, focusing on the relationship of two people, who develop...

Love the One You Love [ Hits:2746 ]
Review: Love the One You Love could be described as an intimate found footage romance drama. While the shooting style doesn't involve camcorders, the up close and personal style of this low budget film creates a similar fly-on-the-wall feeling as we become acquainted with four people living (and loving) in Cape Town. From a kooky Chinese trinket-infested apartment to the wide open spaces of the Sea Point promenade, our characters find themselves tested by the forces of love. Director, Jenna Bass, has c...

Mooirivier [ Hits:3651 ]
Review: Mooirivier is an Afrikaans romantic comedy drama inspired by films like Love, Actually and Valentine's Day. While set in the build-up to an Easter festival in Potchefstroom, writer-director Rene van Rooyen's first feature film has been released just in time for Valentine's Day. While the format is borrowed, Mooirivier's South African flavour, impressive local soundtrack and eager Afrikaans "romcom" market are sure to make this refresh a hit. We're introduced to several budding romances as a pas...

Leading Lady [ Hits:3431 ]
Review: Leading Lady is the latest film from up-and-coming South African director, Henk Pretorius. His previous film, Fanie Fourie's Lobola, demonstrated his ability to create a surprisingly touching, funny, street smart and distinctly South African romantic comedy. While it's another opposites attract "romcom"... he's broadened the scope by turning Leading Lady into a film with more international appeal. We journey with Jodi (McGrath), an idealistic British school teacher and aspiring actress, who fin...

Die Windpomp [ Hits:3471 ]
Review: Die Windpomp or The Windmill is a mercurial genre butterfly. What starts out as a quirky, campy and quaint off-beat comedy drama in the style of Wes Anderson, manages to swathe itself in a cocoon of Nicholas Sparks romance and mystery, before emerging as a fantasy romance with much deeper philosophical questions on the nature of love. We follow the misadventures of Henri, a young adult who stumbles upon a retirement village's secret after moving in with his ailing grandfather. Writer-director,...

Pad Na Jou Hart [ Hits:5314 ]
Review: Pad Na Jou Hart is a film about finding your True North, getting the girl, overcoming setbacks and learning what's most important in life. Basson van Rensburg Jr. is on the verge of taking over his ailing father's business. Just when he thinks he's ready to retire at 28, his father sends him on a cross-country adventure in order to challenge Basson's preconceptions of wealth and happiness. It's on the road that he meets the eccentric, Amory. The film co-stars Ivan Botha as Basson, best known f...

About Time [ Hits:3606 ]
Review: Richard Curtis has been entrusted with cultivating romance in British culture... well, him and the UK's policies on single mother benefits. Having written Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary and Love, Actually, you could say he's the film authority on the gooey, heartwarming thing we call love. So when Curtis writes and directs a film, we know he intends for every hopeless romantic to put a big red circle (or heart) in their calendar for date night. About Time is ...

Ruby Sparks [ Hits:5539 ]
Review: The girl of your dreams usually stays there, but what if she didn't? What if she lived in your mind and in your house? Describing Ruby Sparks as a high concept fantasy "romcom" is an insult to the film. It's so much more... sidestepping the temptation to distort her physical attributes, they've written the story from an emotional perspective - going to some pretty dark places. The film is delivered by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of Little Miss Sunshine, the indie comedy th...

Wuthering Heights [ Hits:5515 ]
Review: Wuthering Heights... the title demands a sigh and conjures up women fainting and swooning on mountain tops. Emily Bronte wrote the book with the protagonist of Heathcliff modeled on her brother, Branwell, which would suggest she had incestuous tendencies. It's difficult to blame the girl, who lost her mother as a toddler, dreamed of imaginary kingdoms and spent a bit too much time with her "creative" siblings before taking a dirt nap at age 30. Emily Bronte's Gothic classic may not have been an...

Semi-Soet [ Hits:14760 ]
Review: Semi-Soet is a sweet homegrown romantic comedy from South Africa. While Afrikaans, the film adopts strict Hollywood genre conventions making you think you've seen it all before. You probably have, but this isn't always a bad thing when it comes to romantic comedies, the predictability factor actually adds to the overall enjoyment of the happily ever after. Romantic comedies emulate that euphoric feeling of love as Ken and Barbie get themselves in various predicaments. Yes, there's a plastic fee...

Jane Eyre [ Hits:6530 ]
Review: This film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's literary classic is haunting, beautiful and moving. Director, Cary Fukunaga, envisioned a darker retelling of this Gothic romantic drama, which until now has generally been depicted as another period piece romance. As such, the Gothic elements from the novel have been emphasised in this film adaptation. Fukunaga chose to shoot Jane Eyre in Northern England, where the moors, foliage and landscapes provide an iconic backdrop, one that would usually be as...

No Strings Attached [ Hits:10328 ]
Review: No Strings Attached is not about puppets. It's a film about friends with benefits or f**k buddies, a fairly new term that has developed over the last twenty years. It's that agreed upon relational state that prioritizes sex over intimacy in a user relationship. Some would say this describes how every relationship they've been in has worked, but in this case it's a two-way street. Well, there's the problem. At some point, the sexual intimacy of a friends with benefits arrangement leads to one par...

The Back up Plan [ 2010 ] [ Hits:6664 ]
Review: So far, we've established that Jennifer Lopez can actually act, dance and sing. However, her talent and charisma is very difficult to unearth in her latest outing, The Back-up Plan. This is one of those movies that should come with a complimentary sick bag. It's the kind of romantic comedy schlock that airs because of its star power and not for its content, which is disposable and embarrassing for all involved including the audience.The most immediate thing you'll notice about The Back-up Plan i...

Its Complicated [ 2009 ] [ Hits:10255 ]
Review: It's Complicated... initially a statement describing one's love life as being in limbo is now a Facebook relationship status and a Nancy Meyers film, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. The film has received added publicity during awards season for Streep's Best Actress nominations and after watching the film you can see why. She's the focus of this "I don't wanna go there" romance and shows off yet another fantastic comedy performance after her role as the flamboyant Julia Chi...

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